Fracture (2007)

An attorney, intent on climbing the career ladder toward success, finds an unlikely opponent in a manipulative criminal he is trying to prosecute.

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writers:

Daniel Pyne (screenplay), Glenn Gers (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Ted Crawford
Ryan Gosling	...	Willy Beachum
David Strathairn	...	DA Joe Lobruto
Rosamund Pike	...	Nikki Gardner
Embeth Davidtz	...	Jennifer Crawford
Billy Burke	...	Lt. Rob Nunally
Cliff Curtis	...	Detective Flores
Fiona Shaw	...	Judge Robinson
Bob Gunton	...	Judge Gardner
Josh Stamberg	...	Norman Foster
Xander Berkeley	...	Judge Moran
Zoe Kazan	...	Mona
Judith Scott	...	Resident
Gary Carlos Cervantes	...	Ciro (as Carlos Cervantes)
Petrea Burchard	...	Dr. Marion Kang

Storyline

Wealthy, brilliant, and meticulous Ted Crawford, a structural engineer in Los Angeles, shoots his wife and entraps her lover. He signs a confession; at the arraignment, he asserts his rights to represent himself and asks the court to move immediately to trial. The prosecutor is Willy Beachum, a hotshot who's soon to join a fancy civil-law firm, told by everyone it's an open and shut case. Crawford sees Beachum's weakness, the hairline fracture of his character: Willy's a winner. The engineer sets in motion a clockwork crime with all the objects moving in ways he predicts.

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Plot Keywords:

police | murder weapon | court | engineer | trial | 

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Taglines:

I shot my wife... prove it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [France] New Line Cinema [United States]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fracture

Filming Locations:

4411 Noeline Avenue, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,014,657, 22 April 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$39,015,018

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,354,215

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, Weinstock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Clooney was attached to direct at one point.

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Goofs

By the expert's testimony in court we are informed that Ted Crawford's bullet pierced through the frontal cortex in the temporal lobe coming to rest upon the upper side of the brain against the skull. Yet when we see wife Jennifer's head hit the floor for a brief moment in a close-up, there is no injury visible at all. Furthermore in another scene Ted points to his left cheek bone when he describes where he shot his wife. Such an injury is very different from that described during the trial. The shot was fired at close range with a powerful .45, which makes it very unlikely that the bullet would come to rest within the skull.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Crawford's Secretary: The NTSB guys are here about that bulkhead problem.
Ted Crawford: OK, thanks.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits contain, in all lower case letters, the following: "in memory of david ronne"

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #16.24 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Ombra Fedel Anch'io
Composed by Riccardo Broschi
Performed by Vivica Genaux (as Vivica Geneaux)
Pianist Paul Floyd

User Reviews

style with the substance to match

Fracture is the story of Ted Crawford (Hopkins), a rich engineer who shoots his wife after discovering she is having an affair. When the police arrive, he confesses and hands in his weapon, and the case is passed on to hotshot DDA Willy Beachum (Gosling), who sees this, his final public service trial before he moves onwards and upwards, to be a slam-dunk case; but alas, thanks to Crawford's mind games, things are not what they seem and the case undergoes a series of twists and turns as Crawford and Beachum engage in a tense battle of wits.

The most obviously noticeable thing about Fracture is the how well-polished it all is. The whole thing looks so...expensive. The cars are expensive. The phones are expensive...even the cutlery during the Thanksgiving dinner scene looks expensive. Beachum seems to wear a new suit in every scene, and even the outdoor location shots look glossy; South California looks like it has been lacquered up especially for the camera lens.

It's all very smooth, well edited, cleverly shot, and well-paced, but without these two actors, this movie would have been nothing more than a glossy second-rate courtroom "thriller". Hopkins and Gosling take it to the next level with great lead performances. Hopkins clearly enjoys playing this sort of manipulative role, controlling events, making sly remarks, and winking in that very obviously shifty way, and he gets to drive flashy cars and live in a big house while he does it, which I imagine only increases the amount of fun he has. Similarly, the cockiness arrogance of DDA Beachum allows Gosling to strut around, make wisecracks, and generally be a smug git. While the Hopkins-Gosling clashes make the movie, they are ably supported by David Straitharn, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Burke, who all inject a bit more life and background into the film.

While the ride is comfortable for the most part, Fracture slips a gear towards the end; the shift from murder mystery to moral crusade feels a little bumpy, but nonetheless, strong performances and great artistic direction make Fracture a stylish, clever and enjoyable thriller that's definitely worth a look.